So, as I feared in last week’s post, the similarities
between the show and the books pretty much stop dead in their tracks with this
one.And you know what? I’m actually
more okay with that than I thought I’d be. At first I worried, but like I said
in the last post, this is sort of giving me more of the characters I crave, and
I’m actually happy it’s not simply a retelling of the events that already
happen within the show.

The Wild One, as it seems, centers more around Isabel and
Alex. Sure Liz, Max, Michael and Maria still play a huge roll. They do step to
the sidelines while they watch Isabel turn her life upside down. Why does she
do that, you ask, because a new comer to town may be more like the three aliens
of Roswell than they ever imagined.

I don’t like spoilers, so I’ll do my best not to ruin the
plot lines for anyone. But in this book we see more of what Isabel is like. She
brings the snarky cheerleader persona to a whole new level in this book. In the
shows, yes, she definitely gave of the air of awesomeness, wanting to be
something that really she wasn’t, popular and normal, and that stays true in
the books. She’s fighting to have a life she knows she can never truly have. She
does her best to give off the impression of a strong, not a care in the world,
it’s all about me attitude on the surface but we also know, through her POV’s
in the novel, she isn’t as bad as she seems, not really. And lonely doesn’t
even quite describe how she’s feeling.

I love Alex—oh yeah, he wasn’t lucky enough to keep the same
last name in the TV show as in the books—No matter because he didn’t get to
keep his red hair either. A last name doesn’t change his personality—neither
does hair colour. He’s Alex, a little scrawny, a little awkward and funny as hell.
He also has the lovesick puppy dog thing down pat. The characters from both
onscreen and in book form are very similar and very likeable.

This book really cements for me the connection between the
three aliens and the three humans and how in the novels they’ve become more
like a family, rather than just a bunch of friends who share a secret. They
stand by, doing all they can do to get Isabel to see what she doesn’t want
too—that the newcomer isn’t as great as he seems, and that trouble is going to
follow the two. But they don’t give up on her, not at all. And the one person
who should, Alex, doesn’t either, no matter how wounded he is.

Both the book and the show did an excellent job at forming a
strong bond between humans and aliens, and shows how important family and
friends are. This is what teens need. Something to understand and something to look
up to, and model their own lives after. Sure there aren’t really aliens in the
world—or maybe there are *wink*--you still need good friends, even if you don’t
think you do!

We also get another taste of the Liz and Max fiasco, a will
they be together or won’t they? It also drives the story forward, since, being
a fan of Roswell the TV show, that’s what I was drawn to most. Their love,
their problems and their friends, I’m glad we still got a look into each of the
characters heads to see where their minds were at, something you don’t quite
get on screen.

Maria and Michael also begin to form their own connection. I
think it was well played out. Not too in your face. Though Michael’s onscreen
character is a little more rough around the edges, the two of them make a great
couple either way!

Now, might I say that Mrs. Metz is great at ending a novel
with a cliffhanger that has you biting your nails. She did it in The Outsider,
and she did it with The Wild One! Not only is the story line interesting, fast
paced and well written when you leave a huge question or scene looming in the
air, of course readers are going to move to the next book, quickly! Thank god,
it’s not thirteen or so years earlier and or I’d have to wait for the release of
the third book.

But. And you know what, there is quite often a but... I
believe there are a lot of answered questions about a certain alien and a
certain ring and my prediction for the next novel is to hope we get a bit more
closure surrounding these two things and a few more answers.